They stepped into Adventure World, where parents and kids drifted like paired kites, and same-age children scattered like sparrows chasing sun. Stalls bloomed like market flowers—ring tosses like hoops of moonlight, gauze-ball throws that rang off tin cans like chimes in wind, and basketball shots arcing like swallows.

Most faces wore the pity of failed runs, like petals bruised by rain. Yet the fun kept bubbling, a clear spring that wouldn’t be dammed by regret.

At the entrance, a huge poster hung like a festival banner, bright as ripe persimmons in autumn light.

Welcome, dear guests. Our newest event launches today. The champion wins a giant bear pillow worth thousands. Sign up at the service desk.

In the poster’s lower-left corner, a photo of the bear pillow gleamed like soft clouds. The blonde girl stared, shock flickering like lightning. That was the very bear lounging on her bed.

“Uh…” Little Loli lifted her finger toward the poster, hesitating like a bamboo shoot peeking from soil. “Bro…”

“I’ve got this.” Lu Ke, always watching Xiao Qianxue like a steady shadow, already knew exactly what his little sister wanted.

He cut through the tide of bodies like a carp swimming upstream and reached the service desk.

“Hi, I’d like to sign up for the event.”

“Of course, sir. The fee is… Fill out this info sheet. In a bit, the game starts.” The attendant’s warmth glowed like a sunlamp, and everything slid forward like silk on polished wood.

“Your bro’s signed up. We can hop straight into the match.” Lu Ke slipped back through the crowd like a gust returning to its source, flicking the form in front of the blonde girl like a playful fan.

A tiny pulse of worry rose first, like mist before dawn. Then Little Loli pursed her lips. “So, Bro… do you even know what the game is?”

“Relax. Whatever it is, the championship’s already in my bag.” Lu Ke wrapped his left hand over his right, striking a pose like a chuunibyou hero. “My qilin arm’s about to awaken.”

“That one’s fake…” Xiao Qianxue raised her right hand, studying it like porcelain in cold light. Cracks and faint wrinkles stood out against her pale skin like frost lines on jade. “Mine’s the real one…”

They traded small talk like drifting leaves for a moment, and then all the loudspeakers around Adventure World crackled like iron throats. “All registered contestants, gather in the central area! The match is about to begin!”

“Gotta say, luck’s on our side.” Lu Ke caught the blonde girl’s small hand in one motion, warm as spring sunlight.

“Hey…” In front of someone close, her gentleness surfaced like a shy tide. Even held so suddenly, Xiao Qianxue only murmured a soft complaint and let him pull her through the crowd toward the center.

A giant round disc lay before everyone like a moon plate set on the ground. A man in work clothes stood on it, steady as a pylon. As the crowd swelled like a river, he raised a loudhailer and shouted, “Contestants, queue up in the left passage in order. I’ll explain the rules next!”

Minutes trickled by like sand. The crowd stopped shifting; it felt like all contestants were in place. Lu Ke stood at the very back, still holding the blonde girl’s hand like a tether line.

“Ugh…” Frustration puffed up in Little Loli like steam from a kettle. “So packed.”

“It’s fine, Xue’er. Just know your bro’s getting you that bear pillow.” Lu Ke’s grip tightened, steady as a pledge carved into wood.

She felt his confidence like a fire under ice. She looked up. His face shone with certainty, a banner that didn’t bow to wind.

“I don’t know where all that confidence comes from, but go get ’em, Bro~” She leaned her body toward his not-so-sturdy frame like a cat finding warm shade, and her other hand slid to lightly hold the hand that held hers.

“Thanks.” He drew her in without breaking the rhythm, one hand slipping into the hoodie’s hood like a quiet breeze, fingers stroking her long golden hair like threads of sunlight.

“You’re really pushing your luck, huh, Bro…” Her mouth kept up a token protest like a paper shield, but both hands stayed on Lu Ke’s other hand—the hand she trusted, the hand of a brother she could lean on.

“Here are the rules.” The loudhailer’s voice cut through their warmth like a bell through fog. “You see the big disc. It’s divided into colored zones. Toss your numbered coin onto the disc. Land it in a zone, and you win that zone’s prize. The tiny red center is the jackpot zone. But here’s the catch—if Player A’s coin gets knocked by Player B into another zone, A gets that zone’s prize instead. If your coin gets knocked off the disc, you get nothing.”

“How’s that fair? If I hit the red and then get knocked out, I lose everything?” A contestant’s complaint splashed out like a stone into water.

“Yes. That’s why we tally zones only after the match ends.” The staffer’s tone stayed flat, a ruler against the desk.

“Listen up. If anyone knocks my coin off, they won’t walk away happy!” A rough-looking man barked from the crowd, teeth bared like a dog at a gate.

“Standing last is a sweet advantage.” Lu Ke withdrew his hand from the hood like a wave returning to shore, eyes tracking the field with a hunter’s patience, fingers rubbing his chin like weighing a blade.

“Do your best.” Little Loli couldn’t see much past shoulders and backs, a forest of trunks. She slipped a hand from her sleeve and smoothed her tousled hair like a comb of wind. Then she tilted her face toward Lu Ke. Her golden eyes shone like twin suns, and a sweet smile bloomed on her fine features like a lily opening.

“We’ve got thirty-five contestants today! Line up by your coin numbers!” the staffer cried, voice cracking like a clapboard. After a brief mess that swirled like leaves in a gust, the line settled. Most were parents with kids clinging like ducklings.

“First up, ready!” A man in his thirties stepped to the mark and flung his coin. It traced an arc like a crescent and, with a touch too much force, skimmed past the red center like a hawk missing the heart, then slid into the green zone.

“Next!”

Lu Ke watched carefully, measuring throw strength and colored zones like a carpenter sizing beams. The red center sat dead-center, but tiny—barely big enough for one and a half coins. The other zones spread wide like fields. Each player had only one toss, no probe, no warm-up—just a single arrow in the rain.

“Haha! I landed it!” After a dozen throws, a youth around twenty saw his coin kiss the red like a cherry sealing lacquer. He shouted in joy, voice bright as a gong.

“Heh.” The next youth stepped up, eyes like a hawk’s. He aimed and slammed his coin straight into the red one. With a crisp clink, both coins popped off the disc like beans from a pod and fell to the ground.

“You looking for a fight?” The first youth didn’t waste breath; his fist lashed out like a drumbeat.

“I aimed for you!” The second met him head-on, fire against fire.

They collided, all hot blood and sharp breath, fists thudding like rain on drumskins. The organizers had expected this storm; three or four staffers and two guards moved in like a net. The two saw the net closing and let their hands sink, though their mouths kept throwing family curses like stones.

“This planner’s got a crafty mind…” Lu Ke murmured, watching the scene like a chessboard. The game baited people into smashing the red-zone coins, and in the end, most would get knocked clean off. You sit, you collect fees, and the crowd breaks itself like waves on rock.

“It’s just mind games for kids, really. Hahaha.” Little Loli laughed, bright as bells on a winter morning, for reasons even she couldn’t name.

Seeing that pleasing smile, Lu Ke’s lips curled up on their own, a crescent rising over calm water.